Description

William (Bill) Phares Dukeshire (1920-2016) was a mere twenty-three years old when he started his fateful voyage on the Kirkwood, a cargo ship delivering 10,000 tons of gasoline to an Allied commander in North Africa. After a severe storm injured the chief mate, Bill took on that role for the returning voyage. When a German U-boat torpedoed the Kirkwood near St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic, there was no way to preserve the ship. Bill's only hope was to command a lifeboat in order to get his crew the 800 miles northwest to Ascension Island. With no chronometer, Bill had only latitude coordinates to make the journey. Bill's memoir chronicles a life of fifty-four years at sea, from a stint on the troop ship SS Coamo to earning a Silver Star for his acts of heroism. Black-and-white photographs, certificates, a crewlist, a chart, and a lifeboat voyage bring his story to life in a book that will entertain and inspire any nautical enthusiast.